Disaster on wheels: Trucks loaded with hazmats roll through the Poconos

Sunday

Mar 11, 2012 at 12:01 AMJun 26, 2014 at 12:53 PM

A tanker truck barrels down Interstate 80 carrying 9,000 gallons of gasoline, cars passing it at speeds in excess of 60 mph. Sound like a good idea? How about a 12,000-gallon rail car filled with liquid propane rolling through East Stroudsburg and Mount Pocono on its way to Scranton?

VINNY VELLA and HOWARD FRANK

A tanker truck barrels down Interstate 80 carrying 9,000 gallons of gasoline, cars passing it at speeds in excess of 60 mph.

Sound like a good idea?

How about a 12,000-gallon rail car filled with liquid propane rolling through East Stroudsburg and Mount Pocono on its way to Scranton?

Guy Miller doesn't like either scenario.

As Monroe County's director of emergency management, Miller's opinion is that hazardous chemicals — particularly flammables — passing through the Poconos on area roads and rails pose a greater risk than those stored in local brick-and-mortar facilities.

"Usually (fixed facilities) are a little easier because they are required to report that to us. We'd know where the chemicals are stored, and we know what safeguards the plants have in place," Miller said. "When you put those chemicals on the road, you're at the mercy of the driver. An accident is inevitable."

The county's highly traveled interstates that feed the tourism industry also are a route for thousands of trucks ferrying potentially lethal materials.

In 2007, the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency ranked Monroe County as having a "significant" risk of hazardous materials being released while in transit, according to the county's 2011 Hazard Mitigation Plan.

"The problem is we have a lot of different materials traveling over our interstates," Miller said. "People don't think of gasoline as hazardous, but if a tanker spills over, it's actually more dangerous if it doesn't burn. The vapors can release and spread."

From 2002-09, Monroe County had 55 incidences of hazardous materials being released; 26 of them while materials were being transported, according to the county's Hazard Mitigation Plan.

The report says 11 of the 26 were solely spills of diesel fuel from crashes, but some of the others were more hair-raising.

Among them:

July 8, 2004: Acid spilled from a FedEx truck on I-80 in Delaware Water Gap. The highway was closed, and 10 people were treated for exposure. July 14, 2006: A 1,000-gallon propane truck ruptured and leaked after being struck in a crash in Middle Smithfield Township. Sept. 10, 2008: A truck carrying ammonium nitrate and dynamite overturned on I-80 in Pocono Township.

"About 10 years ago, and more recently in July 2011, we did a Haz-Mat Commodity Flow Study," Miller said. "We counted the number of tractor-trailers with placards (labels) indicating they were hauling chemicals on major routes like Interstates 80 and 380 and Routes 209, 611 and 33. From this, we identified the top three haz-mat placards, which are flammable, corrosive and compressed gases, as dangerous chemicals most often transported through our county."

Following the first study, the agency purchased a foam trailer and foam to fight fires and suppress vapors.

"We have no way of knowing the time of day or how many times a week the material travels the routes that have been studied," Miller said.

"The purpose of the study was to identify the material and ensure that our responders are aware of the hazards of the material if it should be involved in a traffic incident."

Miller said the recent highway study underscored the need to communicate to the public about preparedness in responding to hazardous materials spills.

The county is developing a public education program that includes advice for "shelter-in-place" for residents who could be affected by a haz-mat release due to a highway crash.

"We are trying to get more information out to the public on what to do," Miller said. "Depending on what that chemical is, people can die. If we say we need to evacuate, they need to get their stuff and evacuate as soon as possible."

The county's railroads face a similar situation.

The Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Railroad Authority owns and operates the only freight line in the county, stretching from Delaware Water Gap to the northern boundary of the county in Coolbaugh Township.

The only hazardous chemical shipped on the route is propane.

For security reasons, Authority President Larry Malski couldn't reveal how often the flammable liquid passes through Monroe, but said that the majority of it is brought in for use in area homes and businesses.

An explosion or fire stemming from a tanker truck spill could be deadly, but chances are low that a terrorist would use one in an attack on the Poconos.

"It's really an apples and oranges debate," said Rick Hind, legislative director for Greenpeace. "Flammable tanker spills do not cause the massive destruction that terrorists want. They're usually localized and contained."

While the presence of hazardous chemicals in residential communities is a risk, eliminating it is easier said than done.

"This stuff is going to and through communities because it is generated somewhere and is going somewhere," Hind said.